Mild traumatic brain injury results in aberrant free radical generation, which is associated with oxidative stress, secondary injury signaling cascades, mitochondrial dysfunction, and poor functional outcome. Pharmacological targeting of free radicals with antioxidants has been examined as an approach to treatment, but has met with limited success in clinical trials. Conventional antioxidants that are currently available scavenge a single free radical before they are destroyed in the process. Here, we report for the first time that a novel regenerative cerium oxide nanoparticle antioxidant reduces neuronal death and calcium dysregulation after in vitro trauma. Further, using an in vivo model of mild lateral fluid percussion brain injury in the rat, we report that cerium oxide nanoparticles also preserve endogenous antioxidant systems, decrease macromolecular free radical damage, and improve cognitive function. Taken together, our results demonstrate that cerium oxide nanoparticles are a novel nanopharmaceutical with potential for mitigating neuropathological effects of mild traumatic brain injury and modifying the course of recovery.
Endocrine disorders have been shown to be a consequence of blast traumatic brain injury in soldiers returning from military conflicts. Hormone deficiency and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) dysfunction can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, and decreased quality of life. Given these changes following blast exposure, the current study focused on investigating chronic pathology within the hypothalamus following blast, in addition to systemic effects. An established rodent model of blast neurotrauma was used to induce mild blast-induced neurotrauma. Adipose tissue, blood, and brain samples were collected at one and three months following a single blast exposure. Adipose tissue and blood were evaluated for changes in ACTH, adiponectin, C-reactive protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein, interleukin (IL)-1b, and leptin. The hypothalamus was evaluated for injury using immunohistochemical techniques. The results demonstrated that the weight of the blast animals was significantly less, compared with the sham group. The slower rate of increase in their weight was associated with changes in ACTH, IL-1b, and leptin levels. Further, histological analysis indicated elevated levels of cleaved caspase-3 positive cells within the hypothalamus. The data suggest that long-term outcomes of brain injury occurring from blast exposure include dysfunction of the hypothalamus, which leads to compromised hormonal function, elevated biological stress-related hormones, and subsequent adipose tissue remodeling.
Ben Lutz is a PhD student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. His research interests include innovative pedagogies in engineering design, exploring student experiences within design c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017Paper ID #18465 settings, school-to-work transitions for new engineers, and efforts for inclusion and diversity within engineering. His current work explores how students describe their own learning in engineering design and how that learning supports transfer of learning from school into professional practice as well as exploring students' conceptions of diversity and its importance within engineering fields.
Tech) conducts research on the micro-coordination -tight coupling of behavior to possibility in the moment -of individuals with each other and technology in co-located and remote settings. He employs Research Through Design to explore how ICTs function to facilitate our feelings of togetherness. This interest stems from and supports his work designing, building and researching assistive and educational technologies. Ms. Michele Ruth Waters, Virginia TechMichele Waters is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering (SBES/BEAM) department at Virginia Tech. Originally from New York, Michele attended SUNY Stony Brook and CUNY City College (Grove School of Engineering) for her B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Michele is currently investigating the role of inflammation (macrophage differentiation) in traumatic brain injury; she is also evaluating the potential of human hair-derived keratin biomaterials to promote an anti-inflammatory environment, thereby improving clinical outcomes for patients. Michele is a member of the New Horizons Graduate Scholar program and has served on the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Selection Committee at Virginia Tech. She is committed to improving diversity in higher education, creating mentoring opportunities, and hopes to continue recruiting women and minorities into STEM fields. Emily Garner, Virginia TechEmily Garner is a PhD student studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment, fate and transport of emerging microbial contaminants, and water quality in distribution systems.
Tom Diller was a Hertz Fellow at MIT, which culminated in a Doctor of Science degree in 1977. After working at Polaroid Corporation for several years, he has been teaching mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech for over 35 years. His current research focuses on the development and use of new instrumentation for measuring heat transfer. Applications include high-temperature unsteady flows, such as found in gas turbine engines and for non-invasively measuring blood perfusion in the human body. He continues to work to transition research results to industrial and laboratory applications and has published well over one hundred papers in areas encompassing heat transfer, fluid flow, biomedical engineering and instrumentation. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate heat transfer courses with approximately 300 students per year. This encompasses computer usage in class and active learning innovations. Dr. Holly M. Matusovich, Virginia TechDr. Matusovich is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Department Head for Graduate Programs in Virginia Tech's Department of Engineering Education. She has her doctorate in Engineering Education and her strengths include qualitative and mixed methods research study design and implementation. She is/was PI/Co-PI on 8 funded research projects including a CAREER grant. She has won several Virginia Tech awards including a Dean's Award for Outstanding New Faculty. Her research expertise includes using motivation and related frameworks to study student engagement in learning, recruitment and retention in engineering programs and careers, faculty teaching practices and intersections of motivation and learning strategies. Matusovich has authored a book chapter, 10 journal manuscripts and more than 50 conference papers.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Exploring Conceptual Understanding in Heat Transfer:A Qualitative Analysis AbstractResearch shows that engineering students struggle to understand concepts in certain core engineering courses such as heat transfer. Students may be able to solve specific problems by following a sequence of steps (referred to a procedural knowledge), but often lack conceptual knowledge, or deep understanding of concepts and the relationships among concepts. Yet it is this conceptual knowledge that can help students transition from novice to expert in a domain. Ideally, procedural and conceptual knowledge are developed in an iterative process where increases in one type of knowledge lead to increases in the other. To determine the extent to which students balance the development of conceptual and procedural knowledge, prior studies examined the way in which students described their approaches to learning in statics courses. The current research expands on this prior work by examining the relationship between students' approaches to learning and their conceptual understanding of heat transfer material. We compared students in two sections of a heat transfer course: the experimental section had a hands-on workshop in addition to lectures, and ...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.